It should be known by now that Kobe Bryant is going down as one of the greatest after he retires, and if you're a Mamba hater, at least look at thislist. He doesn't necessarily need the numbers to add more credibility to what he's already done, but beating Wilt Chamberlain (a.k.a that guy who scored 100 points in one game) in any category definitely isn't anything to look over. When he hit a foul line jumper in the second quarter of last night's match-up against the Kings, the Black Mamba passed Wilt the Stilt to become the NBA's fourth all-time leading scorer.
And surprisingly, Vino is was humbled by the achievement: "What a journey. It's been a very, very long journey. I'm certainly extremely appreciative of all the support and the Laker faithful, the 'Laker Nation,' from being a 17-year-old kid to a 34-year-old man and all the support they've given me throughout my career.
"I remember the first time I met him when I was about eight years old. The first thing that struck me was that, the first thing I thought of was he was 'Bombata' from ['Conan the Destroyer']. That was the most impressive thing to me. He was just such a warm-hearted gentleman and I have nothing but praise for him, obviously. To pass him up is a huge honor, to say the least."
Michael Jordan sits at No. 3 on the list with 32,292 points, and it should be easy for Kobe to surpass him. Catching the next two‒ Karl Malone (36,928) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387)‒may be a stretch though. He'll definitely have the fans' support though, which we know he's fully aware of:
Mamba is as Mamba does. Thank you for all your luv and support over the years #vino #gameshoes #gameball twitter.com/kobebryant/sta…
RELATED: The 100 Greatest Athletes of the Complex Decade
RELATED: The 20 Best NBA Players of the 2000s
RELATED: Kobe Bryant: Badass or Jackass
[via ESPN]
